4xe Gladiator Hybrid (PHEV) Confirmed by Jeep CEO for 2025! ⚡️

[ShadowsPapa]

Segway back gladiator 4xe, it’s in the gc here now. It’s expensive which inhibits uptake. However ..

And yet a well optioned JLU 4xe is roughly the same price as a well optioned Gladiator 3.6
The prices WILL come down. It's that way with any new technology. The first VCR I saw was $1,200 - then a couple of years later, a better one was under a grand, and then soon, under 400 for an even better one.
Technology, methods, materials - all change, coupled with higher production numbers, greater demand, these will either come down, or not go up so much meaning the price will stabilize while other things increase in value.
I can get a really super nice TV - over 20" for 1/3 the price of one 20 years ago.

I'm not trying to push anything, just counter the hate with some truth. At this point in time, I'm one of the first to say - it's absolutely NOT for everyone! No way, not even close. But while it's not even close to being right for many, it's great for others.

At least I've had a JLU 4xe PHEV for well over a year now, through all sorts of weather, so can speak to the strong and weak points, not "I read that........." sort of crap from the "I hate EVs.com" web sites.

i also do make it clear - I'm in Iowa where both gas and electric are fairly cheap. Power is so plentiful we export it to IL, maybe other states. It's among the lowest priced electric in the country.
And living in Iowa, I know about the 20 below 0 bits, driving in 20 degrees, 30 degrees, 40s and so on. Here, the HVAC is either cooling or heating pretty much any time you drive it.

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[Mojave2021]

You'll likely never need brake pads, and the braking on these is killer. I mean be ready or you'll be thrown forward in the seat.

Totally forgot about that benefit. Especially running heavy wheels and tires now my braking on my JT is not fantastic.

From the experience with my wife’s Kia EV6 GT it feels like we barely use the brakes and when you do brake hard, be prepared.

 

[ArchEtech]

Totally forgot about that benefit. Especially running heavy wheels and tires now my braking on my JT is not fantastic.

From the experience with my wife’s Kia EV6 GT it feels like we barely use the brakes and when you do brake hard, be prepared.

Huge benefit of hybrids and EV, but I can’t imagine it’s going to be AS helpful on a PHEV running 37” on 110lb monster shoes at every corner! The torque however may help to avoid a regear - I know nothing about how the 4xe gearing is set up vs regular rubicons.

 

[BourbonRunner]

Yea it’s awesome. My wife is a teacher and the school is 4 miles away. So during the week she never uses gas. Even running errands around town is on all electric. When we have to go further for games on weekends we get mostly all electric until maybe the last 10 miles home will be on gas. We get roughly 29 miles to a full charge. Yes it does cost to charge. My electric bill has gone up $45/month since we got it. I’ll take that over the price of gas.

Preface: I'm highly caffeinated this morning. My apologies in advance.

I don't want this to be an argument, just an observation on what you wrote above. Since this is possibly the first time I've seen it broken down with additional utility cost it got my ADHD addled mind running.

I also will clearly state that I think EV and PHEV tech is neat and the potential is massive, such as BV's in final mile use cases and in major metro areas. However, I think the public is being sold a massive bill of goods on "savings" for PHEVs vs other hybrid platforms, and especially on the Jeeps.

Breaking this down:

--You stated that your electric bill has gone up $45 monthly on average, and that your wife's commute is about 8 miles per day, 5x per week. That's 40 miles commuting.

--Then you stated that your typical weekend driving exceeds the 4xe's 29 miles max on all-electric by about 10 miles. For sake of simplification, looks like you drive another 40-50 miles total over the weekends. That brings total mileage to about 90 miles weekly.

I'll round that up to 100 miles to cover errands, etc but I'd be curious what your wife's actual weekly driving is to see how it skews the stats below.

--Using the average cost per gallon from Gas Buddy for NY: $3.717/gal and the typical EPA MPG of a JLU Rubicon in non-4xe trim V6-auto trim (21/19/24).

--If the V6 gas JLUR gets 19 city driving mpg, you're using just a hair over 5.26 gallons of fuel similarly. I'll round to 5.3 gal for easier numbers and to account for idling, traffic burn, etc.

At the average NY price above, that's about $19.66 weekly, or about $78.65 in an average month. Let's round that up to $80 to keep things simple.

Your delta between "savings" on fuel and increased electrical costs is only $35 monthly, or $420 annually

Then:

--If you factor in the cost of a Jeep Level 2 charger -$681 on Mopar Parts- and installation, assuming you don't need a sub panel at $500, it would take nearly 3 years to get to actual savings over gas usage (33 months if the $35/m in fuel "savings" above is consistent and the cost p/kwh doesn't change). If you're just using a 110v charger at home this doesn't factor, but I'd be surprised if you are.

--The kicker then: factor in the nearly $10K MSRP difference in increased cost of a 4xe Rubicon over a gasser Rubicon, and you're even deeper in the hole, even if you got the full share of available subsidies.

If you got the full $7500 available, you'd still be around $2500 in the hole if you had just bought the gas JLUR in the first place. That's about 673 gallons of fuel, or at burn rates given the mileage above, about 2.5 years of fuel costs. (5.3 gal weekly X 52 weeks / 673 gal = 2.43 years)

It may work well for ShadowsPapa and others in areas with a significantly lower cost of living than us on the coasts, especially in California, the Mid-Atlantic and the North East, but otherwise the math doesn't math.

Your thoughts?

 

[Mojave2021]

The math on the cost impacts can get very complicated and can be spun 100 different ways. It totally depends on your driving habits. With our EV6 GT, my wife drives it around town so we don’t charge it more than once a week but you charge it all night. The 4Xe is 2 hours on an L2 home charger and I imagine will need to be charged more frequently if you want the EV benefits.

For me I would justify my purchase by saying I’m getting more power and better braking - the expected efficiency gains are icing on the cake. But it’ll depend how much they cost and how much my JT is worth for my final decision.

 

[chorky]

One aspect that would resolve a lot of the debate about mileage, power, capability, etc... is if they engineered it to operate more like a train. Where the engine is not necessarily providing any power at all, but rather solely providing electric power to the batteries. That way when batteries are depleted, said engine (generator) turns on providing power and battery charging.

Although I am no engineer so I'm not sure if this is feasible or not or what the power requirements even are for the electric motors. However, it could result into something similar to the Edison truck where instead of even having a transmission, that space can be used for said power generation and each wheel can receive a sealed motor to power said wheels. I mean really one could essentially fully remove the drive train entirely, cutting WAY down on weight and also cutting down on wear and tear items and potential breakdown. One could still effectively have 'lockers' by powering or not powering all 4 tires the same. There could even be the option for limited slip, and lockers, and better traction control - having to turn traction control off during hard core 4x4 would not be needed so much and it wouldn't negatively affect other wheels causing binding and more stress.

I dont know why nobody has looked into this yet. Again, I'm no engineer, but the theory sounds fantastic. Another plus would be quieter noise. Yep I'm at that age now.... I recently purchased a battery powered lawn mower and trimmer, and it is powerful, effective, takes care of my 1/3 acre with lots of battery capacity to spare, and is super quiet. I love it. Plus, no need for maintenance of oil, spark plugs, etc... There is a place for battery powered items. It all depends on the engineering, and of course the ugly politics messing everything up.

Maybe this has been said earlier in the thread but a quick scan through to catch up didn't reveal it to me anyway.

 

[BourbonRunner]

The math on the cost impacts can get very complicated and can be spun 100 different ways. It totally depends on your driving habits. With our EV6 GT, my wife drives it around town so we don’t charge it more than once a week but you charge it all night. The 4Xe is 2 hours on an L2 home charger and I imagine will need to be charged more frequently if you want the EV benefits.

For me I would justify my purchase by saying I’m getting more power and better braking - the expected efficiency gains are icing on the cake. But it’ll depend how much they cost and how much my JT is worth for my final decision.

Certainly and you make valid points but a BEV vs the 4xe isn't a fair comparison. Your EV6 doesn't have the maintenance costs of an ICE, either. A PHEV is blending both of those and getting the worst of the ICE maintenance costs for minimal gain.

I've mentioned here before I'd consider a hybrid JT if available, but I've crunched the numbers and I don't see it adding up-- yet.

If the Ramcharger type of PHEV comes to the JT then this is a moot point and frankly could be the game changer the JT needs to set its self apart from the rest of the mid-size pack. And if the tech is reliable... game, set, match.

 

[BourbonRunner]

One aspect that would resolve a lot of the debate about mileage, power, capability, etc... is if they engineered it to operate more like a train. Where the engine is not necessarily providing any power at all, but rather solely providing electric power to the batteries. That way when batteries are depleted, said engine (generator) turns on providing power and battery charging.

That's what I gather the upcoming Ramcharger is supposed to be: a PHEV that has a V6 to charge the batteries. Effectively a road going version of an EMD diesel electric traction arrangement. Believe it or not, those big diesel locomotives are remarkably efficient for what they are.

 

[Mojave2021]

Certainly and you make valid points but a BEV vs the 4xe isn't a fair comparison. Your EV6 doesn't have the maintenance costs of an ICE, either. A PHEV is blending both of those and getting the worst of the ICE maintenance costs for minimal gain.

I've mentioned here before I'd consider a hybrid JT if available, but I've crunched the numbers and I don't see it adding up-- yet.

If the Ramcharger type of PHEV comes to the JT then this is a moot point and frankly could be the game changer the JT needs to set its self apart from the rest of the mid-size pack. And if the tech is reliable... game, set, match.

Yes totally agree - that’s why I mentioned that you’d be charging it very differently than a BEV above too since you’re draining the battery likely more frequently.

Another topic is resale value. Seems like the Wrangler PHEVs are holding up their resale prices better than the BEVs. We leased the Kia given that the depreciation has been crazy on them lately, and given how the tech still is changing rapidly I didn’t like buying it. Seems like a crazy deal now where you can get one of them used with 10K miles around $40K - it’s actually a fantastic 576HP station wagon.

 

[chorky]

That's what I gather the upcoming Ramcharger is supposed to be: a PHEV that has a V6 to charge the batteries. Effectively a road going version of an EMD diesel electric traction arrangement. Believe it or not, those big diesel locomotives are remarkably efficient for what they are.

If they could make something like this work and implemented - I think it would be the ticket home that would get everyone onboard. Yeah sure there is still a ICE component, and maintenance, yada yada, the usual debate. But those diesel electric trains have been around a LONG time, and I have to imagine there is a reason why aside from the power. It really is strange that doesnt' seem to have been explored much.

Could you provide a link to the ram charger you're talking about? I'm curious to read more. If they made a gas/diesel electric for the glad and it had all the right specs - man I would trade in today even if I had to spend all summer taking everything off my current one. That just has SO much potential.

 

[Mojave2021]

If they could make something like this work and implemented - I think it would be the ticket home that would get everyone onboard. Yeah sure there is still a ICE component, and maintenance, yada yada, the usual debate. But those diesel electric trains have been around a LONG time, and I have to imagine there is a reason why aside from the power. It really is strange that doesnt' seem to have been explored much.

Could you provide a link to the ram charger you're talking about? I'm curious to read more. If they made a gas/diesel electric for the glad and it had all the right specs - man I would trade in today even if I had to spend all summer taking everything off my current one. That just has SO much potential.

Was checking that out as well. Geez that has some impressive performance / efficiency stats. Would love that drivetrain in the JT instead…

https://www.ramtrucks.com/electric/ram-1500-ramcharger.html

 

[IOS-XR]

I do not own a 4xe Wrangler, but I have driven a Sahara 4xe. I also don’t own a 392 but have a friend that owns one. I’ve driven it several times along with a Wangler with a swapped in 392 Scat Pack (505hp). Of course, I own a HA diesel Gladiator.

These are my observations: I want to like the 4xe because I’m intrigued by the tech. I drove a ’23 4xe Sahara for a day while my diesel Gladiator was getting the CP4 pump replacement. I’m thinking the folks talking like the 4xe drives like a 392 Wrangler or a diesel must not have driven either. The 4xe is “ok”, but it’s no beast. The diesel has torque for days and based on back-to-back driving creams the 4xe. The 392 isn’t in the same league, and the Scat Pack was just awesome.

I wanted to like the 4xe and seriously thought about picking up a Wrangler Rubicon 4xe to go with our diesel Gladiator, but I was underwhelmed. I can’t see it being an awesome powertrain in the Gladiator without some changes.

I‘ll be Interested to see what the specs look like when it releases later this year. Here’s to hoping that Stelanis does something cool.

 

[reverse01134]

It's just a PHEV version of the Gladiator. Not really comparable to the 392 or diesel. But it's clear that it's a better option if you're looking for more power (and somewhat better fuel mileage). So I'm all for it. Jeep should have launched the 4xe Gladiator last year. They are so late to the game. All the competitors (tacoma trd pro, ranger raptor and colorado zr2) are currently offering ~400 lb-ft of torque for their mid-size trucks.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

It's just a PHEV version of the Gladiator. Not really comparable to the 392 or diesel.

Beats the 392 in HP and torque.

 

[Jobofly]

Preface: I'm highly caffeinated this morning. My apologies in advance.

I don't want this to be an argument, just an observation on what you wrote above. Since this is possibly the first time I've seen it broken down with additional utility cost it got my ADHD addled mind running.

I also will clearly state that I think EV and PHEV tech is neat and the potential is massive, such as BV's in final mile use cases and in major metro areas. However, I think the public is being sold a massive bill of goods on "savings" for PHEVs vs other hybrid platforms, and especially on the Jeeps.

Breaking this down:

--You stated that your electric bill has gone up $45 monthly on average, and that your wife's commute is about 8 miles per day, 5x per week. That's 40 miles commuting.

--Then you stated that your typical weekend driving exceeds the 4xe's 29 miles max on all-electric by about 10 miles. For sake of simplification, looks like you drive another 40-50 miles total over the weekends. That brings total mileage to about 90 miles weekly.

I'll round that up to 100 miles to cover errands, etc but I'd be curious what your wife's actual weekly driving is to see how it skews the stats below.

--Using the average cost per gallon from Gas Buddy for NY: $3.717/gal and the typical EPA MPG of a JLU Rubicon in non-4xe trim V6-auto trim (21/19/24).

--If the V6 gas JLUR gets 19 city driving mpg, you're using just a hair over 5.26 gallons of fuel similarly. I'll round to 5.3 gal for easier numbers and to account for idling, traffic burn, etc.

At the average NY price above, that's about $19.66 weekly, or about $78.65 in an average month. Let's round that up to $80 to keep things simple.

Your delta between "savings" on fuel and increased electrical costs is only $35 monthly, or $420 annually

Then:

--If you factor in the cost of a Jeep Level 2 charger -$681 on Mopar Parts- and installation, assuming you don't need a sub panel at $500, it would take nearly 3 years to get to actual savings over gas usage (33 months if the $35/m in fuel "savings" above is consistent and the cost p/kwh doesn't change). If you're just using a 110v charger at home this doesn't factor, but I'd be surprised if you are.

--The kicker then: factor in the nearly $10K MSRP difference in increased cost of a 4xe Rubicon over a gasser Rubicon, and you're even deeper in the hole, even if you got the full share of available subsidies.

If you got the full $7500 available, you'd still be around $2500 in the hole if you had just bought the gas JLUR in the first place. That's about 673 gallons of fuel, or at burn rates given the mileage above, about 2.5 years of fuel costs. (5.3 gal weekly X 52 weeks / 673 gal = 2.43 years)

It may work well for ShadowsPapa and others in areas with a significantly lower cost of living than us on the coasts, especially in California, the Mid-Atlantic and the North East, but otherwise the math doesn't math.

Your thoughts?

Actually my wife does about 1000 miles per month. The great thing is that as soon as she comes home she plugs in and gets some charge before she goes back out. Because she uses so little going to and from school it doesn’t take long to top it off. Same thing for weekend driving. It’s charged when she leaves. She plugs in when she gets home. She will go back out again with a full charge.

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